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Jeff and Britta
Jeff and Britta were the first major pairing, romantic or otherwise, on Community. A clear love/hate dynamic was established between the two with Jeff's aggressive pursuit of Britta romantically in the beginning of Season One. Although Jeff created the study group as a means to impress her, he eventually forms a close bond with all of them including Britta. Initially, they felt a sense of responsibility towards the other members of the study group and considered themselves to be their Greendale parents. They have since abandoned those roles and just become friends with them. Over the course of the show they have became lovers, friends and somewhere in between both extremes. Jeff is portrayed by Joel McHale and Britta is portrayed by Gillian Jacobs. Pairing History Season One Jeff aggressively pursued Britta romantically in Season One, but she repeatedly refused him; he did see some hope with her after Shirley reveals that Britta had a sex dream about him. Eventually, he moved on and started dating Professor Slater. During her tap dance recital, Britta saw that Jeff and Slater were actually serious, which made her realize her own potential feelings for him. She ends up leaving Jeff an embarrassing drunk dial laced with BCI. Upon Abed's insistence and with his help, Jeff later drunk dials her as well in order to restore the balance between them. Not long afterwards, however, Slater unceremoniously dumps Jeff. During the chaos of a Greendale paintball competition, Jeff and Britta find themselves swept up in the moment and end up having sex. Afterwards, they both agree it was a mistake and decide to keep it a secret from the study group. At the end of the school year, Abed throws a keg party at his dorm, and Jeff makes an awkward pass at a clueless Britta. Slater interrupts the moment, having made an attempt earlier that day to get back with Jeff. That night at the Transfer Dance formal, Slater and Britta compete for his affections. Desperate to win at the competition more than be with Jeff, it culminates with both women declaring their love for him. Instead of choosing between them, Jeff leaves the dance and ends up running into a third option. '''Significant episodes': 1x1 Jeff introduces himself to Britta.png S101 Listen to the sound of silence.png IF JB First kiss.png SP There's the awkward pause.png ACL Gentlemen my client is insane.png CS Booty Call implications.png Jeff and Britta secretly slapping five.png 1X22JB.jpg The banter continues.png MW Jeff and Britta kiss.png 1X23 post coital.png PTR-Britta VS Slater.png PTR I love you.png Season Two Jeff deals with the fallout of the Tranny Dance events, which sees him being scorned by the female students at Greendale who believe Britta to be the victim of unrequited love. Jeff starts a competition between them to bring the truth to light which sees them almost getting married thanks to Abed's interference. Although Jeff manages to win the contest, they nearly end up tearing the study group apart in the process. Troy's birthday celebration at a bar leads to a drunk make out session between the two of them, but they quickly decide it was a mistake. Eventually, at the end of the school year, it's revealed to the study group by Abed that Britta and Jeff have been secretly sleeping together. Although the group forgives them for keeping it a secret and gives them their blessing to continue, they both agree not to. '''Significant episodes': A 101 And so it begins the most awkward kiss ever.png|The greatest kiss ever known. MC Drunken make out session.png|Drunk make out session. Cool Cats.png|The Cool Cats POHM Britta flirts with Jeff at the Halloween party.png|Britta flirts with Jeff at the Halloween party. POHM Abed finds Jeff and Britta post coital in his dorm room.png|Abed finds Jeff and Britta half naked in his dorm room. Jeff and Britta smiling.jpg Season Three Jeff and Britta appear to have moved on romantically but still have a good friendship with each other. On Halloween, Jeff tries to help Britta figure out which member of the study group could be a psychopath. When Pierce's father shows up, Britta warns Jeff about his issues with his own father which might be affecting him more than he thinks. Jeff defends Britta when Mr. Rad berates her for ruining the school musical. When a recently engaged Shirley and Andre Bennett have a wedding rehearsal, a drunk Jeff and Britta try to get married themselves. Later, Britta tries in vain to stop Jeff's ego from spiraling out of control. Jeff decides to see for himself what the big deal is about Britta's old boyfriend and makes a shocking discovery. After the study group learns how Ben Chang set them up to be expelled and had the real Dean Pelton replaced with Faux-by, the group concocts an elaborate plan to set things right. As part of the plan, Jeff and Britta team up and infiltrate the school as '''Ricky Nightshade' the rock and roll magician and his goth assistant respectively. Significant episodes: Jeff and Britta Season Three.png HFISSS Making out in a parked car.png HFISSS Im fine with it.png|''I'm fine with it.'' 3X21Goth Britta and Criss Angel Jeff.jpg Season Four At the start of their senior year at Greendale, Britta is now in a relationship with Troy . According to interviews from new showrunners Moses Port and David Guarascio, a spark maybe reigniting between Jeff and Britta. The fourth season will see Britta helping Jeff deal with his issues with his father William Winger. Significant episodes: 4X1JB.jpg Promotional photos Black Book Jeff and britta.jpg Ball_and_chain_Jeff_and_Britta.jpg Jeff-Britta-Christmas_1.jpg Jeff-Britta-Christmas_2.jpg gillianjoelmchale271.jpg JB.jpg Development Dan Harmon based this relationship, as well as the story of Community itself, on his real life experience of going back to community college in order to impress a girl he was dating at the time. The couple was featured prominently in a lot of NBC's promotional material and was to be the main pairing on the show. At first, the differences in their personalities were emphasized; Britta was selfless, and Jeff was selfish. In Season One DVD commentaries and in this interview, Harmon mentions how Britta had become relegated to policing Jeff's bad behavior. Reacting to feedback from critics and his own writing staff, he sought to change that aspect of their relationship. A gradual but noticeable change was made mid-season, and her negative similarities with Jeff began to be emphasized more while her positive influence was phased out. A new dynamic was established which led to Britta being a partner-in-crime of Jeff's antics and an enabler of his bad behavior; this was highlighted in a number of episodes ("Romantic Expressionism","The Art of Discourse", "Mixology Certification" and even commented on by Shirley in "Paradigms of Human Memory". As the series progressed, Jeff and Britta went from flirting and a one night stand in Season One, casual secret hook ups throughout Season Two, and back to being just friends in Season Three. Relationship analysis Jeff and Britta are initially introduced as the main focus of show with a will-they-won’t-they dynamic. Many of the earlier episodes in Season One involved Jeff trying to win Britta's affections. Britta at first denied any attraction she had to him, but Jeff's relationship with Michelle Slater forced her to realize her feelings. It's worth noting that two contradictory analyses of Britta and Slater in relation to Jeff are made in Season One. In the episode "Communication Studies", Abed explains to Jeff that Michelle accepts him as he is and expects nothing more from him while Britta is the opposite and challenges him to be a better person. Jeff agrees with this statement but curiously changes his opinion by the end of the year. In Pascal's Triangle Revisited, Jeff reveals to Annie that Slater is the one who makes him want to be a better person while Britta is the one who accepts him as he is. In an interview, Dan Harmon somewhat admitted the contrasting views was an unintentional oversight on his part, although he did offer a retroactive explanation for the discrepancy. Personality wise, both Britta and Jeff share a cynical outlook on life, sarcastic attitudes, and moments of vanity and selfishness. Although they connect through these similarities, their interactions unfortunately often brings out the worst in them with humorous consequences to follow. Despite their past sexual history, they have not let it affect their friendship as they both genuinely care for each other in spite of all their bickering. While the snarky bantering between them may seem hurtful to others, it is mostly indicative of how comfortable they are around each other; they are able to give each other grief without it becoming a sore point between them. Currently, it appears they have both moved on and are possibly pursuing romantic possibilities with other members of the study group. Jeff even seems to have silently given his approval for Britta to explore a relationship with Troy. Fandom Despite the canonical status of their romantic relationship, Jeff and Britta still have a devoted shipper following online, particularly on tumblr. A fanvid called Jeff/Britta 500 days, based on the movie "500 days of Summer", was praised by Dan Harmon, Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs and Donald Glover on their twitter accounts and has so far received close to 100,000 views. Bacl in October 2010 when Community during Season Two, online Entertainment Weekly published an article online entitled "9 TV Couples We Say Belong Together". Jeff and Britta were one of the couples mentioned although the description of their relationship suggested the early Season One version of the dynamic between them. External links #The New will-they-won't-they Joel McHale and Gilian Jacobs #Hitflix-Alan Sepinwall interview with Dan Harmon #Fanlore: Britta Perry/Jeff Winger #Jeff and Britta tumblr #"You should kiss me now" Jeff and Britta livejournal fansite #Harmon audio interview on Jeff and Britta/Slater/Annie #Jeff Britta 500 days Category:Jeff Winger Category:Pairings Category:Community Characters Category:Community fandom Category:Britta Perry